This Date in Baseball

By Compiled PAUL MONTELLA -
Associated Press -
Friday, June 15, 2012

June 17

1915 _ George “Zip” Zabel of the Chicago Cubs was called into the game against the Brooklyn Dodgers with two outs in the first inning. He won 4-3 in the 19th inning in the longest relief effort in the majors.

1943 _ Player-manager Joe Cronin of the Boston Red Sox hit a three-run pinch homer in both games of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia A’s. The Red Sox won the opener 5-4 and lost the second game 8-7.

1960 _ Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox became the fourth player to reach 500 home runs, hitting a two-run shot off Wynn Hawkins in a 3-1 win over the Cleveland Indians.

1971 _ Don Kessinger of the Chicago Cubs went 6-for-6, with five singles and a double, in a 7-6, 10-inning decision over the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field.

1978 _ Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees struck out 18 California Angels to set an American League record for left-handers. Guidry, who struck out 15 in the first six innings, ended with a 4-0 four-hitter.

1993 _ Baseball owners voted 26-2 in favor of expanding the playoffs for the first time in 25 years, doubling the teams that qualify to eight starting in 1994.

2003 _ Jae Seo, David Weathers and Armando Benitez combined for a one-hitter as the New York Mets beat Florida 5-0. It was the third straight game the Mets were involved in a one-hitter.

2005 _ Arizona gave up 10 runs in the third inning of its 13-6 loss to Cleveland. The Diamondbacks, who allowed 10 runs in the sixth inning on June 15 in Chicago, became the first team since the 1969 Mets to allow 10 runs in an inning in consecutive games. The Mets did it on one day _ during a doubleheader against Houston.

2007 _ Brandon Watson extended his hitting streak to 43 games, breaking a 95-year-old International League record with a base hit in the Columbus Clippers’ 9-8 loss to the Ottawa Lynx. Jack Lelivelt set the IL record for the Rochester Hustlers in 1912.

2007 _ Frank Thomas hit his record-breaking 244th homer as a designated hitter in Toronto’s 4-2 loss to Washington. The solo shot in the third inning moved Thomas past Edgar Martinez for the most homers by a DH in major league history.

2008 _ Seattle’s Felix Hernandez struck out the side on nine pitches in the fourth inning of a 5-4 win over Florida, becoming the 13th pitcher in American League history to accomplish the feat.

1960 _ The San Francisco Giants fired Bill Rigney and selected Tom Sheehan as manager. At 66 years, 2 months and 18 days, Sheehan was the oldest man to debut as a manager of a major league team.

1967 _ Houston Astros pitcher Don Wilson tossed the first of his two career no-hitters by blanking the Atlanta Braves 2-0, facing 30 batters and striking out 15.

1975 _ Fred Lynn batted in 10 runs with three homers, a triple and a single in the Boston’s 15-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Lynn’s 16 total bases tied an AL record.

1986 _ California’s Don Sutton pitched a three-hitter for his 300th career victory as the Angels beat the Texas Rangers 5-1. The 41-year-old right-hander became the 19th pitcher in baseball history to win 300 games.

2002 _ Luis Castillo tied Rogers Hornsby’s 80-year-old record for the longest hitting streak by a second baseman, beating out a dribbler to the pitcher in the sixth inning to make it 33 games in a row, in a 2-1 Florida win over Cleveland.

2005 _ Atlanta’s Julio Franco, 46, hit two homers in a game for the first time since Sept. 12, 1996, becoming the second-oldest player to homer in major league history. Jack Quinn was a week shy of his 47th birthday when he homered in 1930.

2007 _ Chone Figgins went 6-for-6 and drove in the game-winning run in the ninth inning to lift the Los Angeles Angels over Houston 10-9.

2009 _ The Washington Nationals beat the New York Yankees 3-0 after the start of the game was delayed for 5 1/2 hours by rain. Scheduled to start at 1:05 p.m., the game did not begin until 6:31 p.m. Craig Stammen pitched 6 1-3 innings to earn his first major league victory in the first game without a homer at the new Yankee Stadium.

Today’s birthday: Chris Coghlan 26.

June 19

1941 _ En route to 56, Joe DiMaggio hit in his 32nd consecutive game, going 3-for-3, including a home run, against the Chicago White Sox.

1942 _ Paul Waner got hit number 3,000 _ a single off Rip Sewell _ but the Boston Braves lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6.

1961 _ Roger Maris’ ninth-inning homer off Kansas City’s Jim Archer was his 25th of the year, putting him seven games ahead of Babe Ruth’s pace in 1927.

1973 _ Cincinnati’s Pete Rose and Willie Davis of the Los Angeles Dodgers both collected their 2,000th hits. It was a single for Rose against the San Francisco Giants and a home run for Davis against the Atlanta Braves.

1974 _ Steve Busby of the Kansas City Royals hurled his second no-hitter in 14 months and gave up just one walk in beating the Brewers 2-0 at Milwaukee.

1977 _ The Boston Red Sox hit five home runs in an 11-1 triumph over the New York Yankees. The five homers gave the Red Sox a major league record 16 in three games. Boston hit six homers on the 17th and five on the 18th, also against the Yankees. The Yankees had no homers in the series.

2001 _ Ellis Burks hit three homers in a 10-9 Cleveland loss to the Twins.

2006 _ San Francisco rookie Matt Cain carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning in the Giants’ 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Chone Figgins lined a single to center with two outs in the eighth to end Cain’s no-hit bid. The 21-year-old Cain allowed the one hit and an unearned run while walking four and striking out 10.

2008 _ Atlanta lost its league-record 22nd straight one-run game on the road when Texas rallied for a 5-4 victory. The previous mark was 21 by Kansas City during a stretch over the 2000-01 seasons. Atlanta’s last one-run victory on the road was on Aug. 10, 2007.

Today’s birthday: Bruce Chen 34.

June 20

1912 _ The New York Giants outslugged the Boston Braves 21-12 with the teams scoring a total of 17 runs in the ninth inning. The Giants scored seven runs to take a 21-2 lead and the Braves scored 10 runs in the ninth.

1951 _ Bobby Avila hit three home runs, a double and single in the Cleveland Indians' 14-8 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

1980 _ Freddie Patek, one of baseball’s smallest players at 5-foot-5, hit three home runs and a double to lead the California Angels in a 20-2 rout of the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park.

1982 _ Pete Rose became the fifth major leaguer to appear in 3,000 games and extended a personal consecutive-game streak to 523 in a 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium.

1992 _ Kelly Saunders became the second woman to serve as a public address announcer at a major league game when she filled in for Rex Barney in Baltimore.

1994 _ The Detroit Tigers‘ string of 25 straight games hitting a home run ended in a 7-1 loss to Cleveland. The streak matched the major league mark set by the 1941 New York Yankees.

1998 _ Sammy Sosa hit two home runs for the second straight day to set a major league record with 16 homers in June as the Chicago Cubs beat Philadelphia 9-4.

2001 _ Barry Bonds broke two major league records with his 38th homer, including one set by Babe Ruth in 1928, as the Giants beat San Diego 8-3. Bonds hit a two-run shot in the eighth inning to break out of a tie with Reggie Jackson (1969) and Mark McGwire (1998) for the most homers before the All-Star break. And he became the quickest to 38, doing it in his team’s 71st game. Ruth hit 38 in 88 games in 1928.

2004 _ Ken Griffey Jr. hit the 500th home run of his career, off Matt Morris, to help the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-0.

2006 _ Jason Jennings and two relievers combined on a one-hitter as Colorado beat Oakland 6-0. It was the first one-hitter in team history and the third time there has been one hit or less at Coors Field.

2007 _ Sammy Sosa hit his 600th home run, making him the fifth player to reach the milestone. Sosa, playing for the Texas Rangers following a year out of baseball, hit a solo homer off Jason Marquis. It came in the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs, the team he played for from 1992-2004.

2009 _ Two games ended on wild pitches in extra innings. Nate Schierholtz scored the winning run for San Francisco on a wild pitch by Jason Jennings with two outs in the 11th inning and the Giants beat the Texas Rangers 2-1. Earlier, the Chicago Cubs beat Cleveland 6-5 in 13 innings when Andres Blanco came home on Kerry Wood’s gaffe.

Today’s birthday’s: Kendry Morales 28

Kevin Gregg 33

Carlos Lee 35

Juan Castro 39.

June 21

1916 _ Rube Foster of the Red Sox pitched a 2-0 no-hitter against the New York Yankees. Foster struck out three and walked three and pitched the first no-hitter at Fenway Park.

1941 _ Lefty Grove’s 20-game consecutive win streak at Fenway Park ended with a 13-9 loss to the St. Louis Browns. The streak ran from May 3, 1938, to May 12, 1941.

1956 _ In a rare double one-hitter, Chicago’s Jack Harshman outdueled Connie Johnson and George Zuverink of Baltimore as the White Sox beat the Orioles 1-0.

1964 _ Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a perfect game against the New York Mets on Father’s Day. The no-hitter gave Bunning one in each league. The Phillies’ Gus Triandos became the first catcher to handle no-hitters in both leagues.

1970 _ Detroit Tigers shortstop Cesar Gutierrez had seven hits in seven at-bats in a 9-8, 12-inning victory over the Cleveland Indians. Gutierrez had six singles and a double.

1989 _ Carlton Fisk set an American League record for homers by a catcher and drove in three runs to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 7-3 victory over the New York Yankees. Fisk hit his 307th homer as a catcher to pass the Yankees‘ Yogi Berra.

2000 _ Eric Chavez hit for the cycle in Oakland’s 10-3 win over Baltimore. Chavez doubled in the second inning, singled in the fourth, tripled in the fifth and finished off the cycle with a homer in the seventh.

2002 _ Luis Castillo singled in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to 35 games, tying Ty Cobb and two others for the 10th-longest streak in baseball history.

2005 _ Jeff Larish matched a College World Series record with three homers, and J.J. Sferra drove in the game-winning run with a bloop single in the 11th inning as Arizona State rallied for an 8-7 victory and eliminated hometown favorite Nebraska. Larish’s record-tying third homer tied it in the bottom of the ninth, and Sferra’s single in the 11th punctuated the 4-hour, 7-minute game.

2005 _ The New York Yankees scored 13 runs in the eighth inning, sending 16 batters to the plate, to help overcome an eight-run deficit and defeat Tampa Bay 20-11.

2006 _ Jose Reyes hit for the cycle in the New York Mets‘ 6-5 loss to Cincinnati.

2009 _ St. Louis’ Tony La Russa joined Connie Mack (3,831) and John McGraw (2,763) as the only managers with 2,500 victories following a 12-5 win over Kansas City. La Russa is 2,500-2,177 in 31 years as a big league manager with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland and St. Louis.

Today’s birthdays: Garrett Jones 30, Jeff Baker 30.

June 22

1925 _ The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 24-6 with Kiki Cuyler and Pie Traynor each hitting a grand slam and Max Carey getting two hits in the first and eighth innings.

1930 _ Lou Gehrig hit three home runs to lead the New York Yankees to a 20-13 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics in the second game of a doubleheader. Babe Ruth, who hit three homers in the nightcap the previous day, hit two homers in the opener and one in the nightcap for the Yankees. Ruth tied major league records for five homers in two games and six homers in three games.

1944 _ Jim Tobin of the Boston Braves threw a five-inning 7-0 no-hitter in the second game of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies.

1947 _ Cincinnati’s Ewell Blackwell almost duplicated Johnny Vander Meer’s double no-hit record by following up his June 18 gem over Boston. Brooklyn’s Eddie Stanky singled with one out in the ninth to end Blackwell’s bid. Blackwell ended up with a 4-0 two-hitter.

1962 _ Baltimore Orioles first baseman Boog Powell became the first batter to hit a home run over the center-field hedge at Memorial Stadium. The 469-foot clout came off Don Schwall of the Boston Red Sox.

1982 _ Philadelphia’s Pete Rose doubled off St. Louis pitcher John Stuper in the third inning to move into second place on the career hit list. Rose moved ahead of Hank Aaron with hit No. 3,772.

1993 _ Carlton Fisk set the major league record for most games caught as the Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers 3-2. Fisk, 45, passed Bob Boone with his 2,226th game.

1994 _ Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 31st home run of the season in Seattle’s 12-3 victory at California, breaking Babe Ruth’s record for most homers before the end of June. Ruth needed 63 games to reach 30 homers in 1928 and 68 games in 1930. Griffey did it in the Mariners’ 70th game.

2002 _ The Detroit Tigers ended Luis Castillo’s 35-game hitting streak. Castillo went 0-for-4 and was left on deck when the Florida Marlins finished off a four-run, ninth-inning rally to beat the Tigers 5-4.

2006 _ Anthony Reyes pitched a one-hitter in just his fourth major league start, but St. Louis fell to the Chicago White Sox 1-0. Jim Thome homered in the seventh inning for Chicago’s only hit.

2008 _ Atlanta’s Mark Teixeira hit three home runs and finished with four RBIs in an 8-3 win over Seattle. Teixeira hit solo drives batting left-handed in the second and fourth innings, and a two-run shot from the right side in the seventh.

2011 _ Cincinnati leadoff hitter Chris Heisey hits three home runs and drives in five runs as the Reds beat the New York Yankees 10-2.

Today’s birthdays: Cesar Ramos 27

Ian Kinsler 29

Jason Motte 29

Brad Hawpe 32

Willie Harris 33.

June 23

1917 _ In baseball’s greatest relief effort, Ernie Shore of the Boston Red Sox relieved pitcher Babe Ruth with nobody out and a man on first. The base runner was cut down stealing and Shore retired all 26 batters he faced to gain a 4-0 victory over Washington. Ruth walked Eddie Foster to open the game and was ejected after arguing with umpire Brick Owens.

1950 _ Hoot Evers’ game-winning home run in the ninth inning gave the Detroit Tigers a 10-9 victory over the New York Yankees as the teams combined for 11 home runs, a major league record. The Yankees hit six.

1963 _ Jimmie Piersall, playing for the Mets in New York, hit his 100th career home run and celebrated by running around the bases backward.

1971 _ Rick Wise of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds and hit two homers. Wise became the first pitcher to hit two homers while throwing a no-hitter.

1973 _ Pitcher Ken Brett of the Philadelphia Phillies hit a home run in the fourth consecutive game that he pitched in June. He beat Montreal 7-2.

1984 _ Chicago’s Ryne Sandberg hit two late-inning home runs off St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bruce Sutter to tie the game twice as the Cubs went on to win 12-11 in 11 innings. Sandberg led off the ninth inning with a solo home run to tie the game 9-9 then hit a two-run, two-out homer in the 10th to tie the game 11-11. Willie McGee hit for the cycle and drove in six runs for St. Louis.

2000 _ Bret Boone hit three home runs along with six RBIs in San Diego’s 10-7, 10-inning victory over Cincinnati.

2006 _ Jose Contreras won his 16th straight decision, leading the Chicago White Sox past Houston 7-4. Contreras, 16-0 in his last 21 regular-season starts, last lost to Minnesota on Aug. 15, 2005. He surpassed the club mark for consecutive wins held by LaMarr Hoyt and Wilson Alvarez.

2008 _ Felix Hernandez hit the first grand slam by an American League pitcher in 37 years, then departed with a sprained ankle before he could qualify for a win in Seattle’s 5-2 victory over the New York Mets. The shot to right-center off Johan Santana was the first home run by a pitcher in Mariners history, and the first slam by an AL hurler since Cleveland’s Steve Dunning went deep against Oakland’s Diego Segui on May 11, 1971.